Letters To The Editor

May 24, 2002

Manufactured issue

It is with little amazement but no lack of disgust that we are seeing the desperate, last-ditch attempt by the leaders of the Democratic Party, aided willingly by the liberal "panic" press, to try to formulate an issue to run on this November.

The charges that the Democratic senators are making against President Bush are true, but so what? Let us for a moment examine what would have happened if Bush were to have come forward with the news of an impending hijacking of an airliner by Islamic fundamentalists, as he was warned of sometime prior to Sept. 11. Members of the press would have wanted to know when, where, what, why and how.

However, no other information was given to the president except that there was a chance that there would be a hijacking instigated by Osama bin Laden.

The press with that information would have only been able to say, "So what? That happens all the time!"

If senators like Tom Daschle are really so concerned about this issue, why aren't they asking their own Senate Intelligence Committee these questions? They had the same information as Bush was given.

Right-minded voters from all political parties will see this attempt to smear the president for just what it is. The Democrats have absolutely no issue to run on this fall, and they are desperate to invent one.

William A. Lightfoot

James City County

Should have acted

In hindsight, President Bush should have acted on the tip he received in August. I really don't think his administration should worry about the Democrats attacking him.

The news media -- print, radio or television -- will do all the attacking and questioning of his actions.

Also, I wonder who in Bush's administration leaked the information to the press. This person must have been upset over some decision Bush made.

If Bush were truthful in the beginning, he wouldn't be feeling the heat today. Didn't he learn anything from Clinton?

I now know Bush is just like any other politician. Now we must live through another long investigation by Congress.

Tony L. Crudup

Newport News

Don't be fooled twice

I read the May 17 front page headline "Connecting the dots" with interest. It was well researched and well written.

That said, I hope that people will be very careful about accusing our public officials of negligence or asserting that "they knew and should have done something."

What would any of us have done on Sept. 10 if someone had said to us, "You know what? Tomorrow, terrorists are going to hijack four civilian airliners simultaneously and without warning. They're not going to make any demands -- they're just going to fly them into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. And then, the World Trade Center towers are going to fall down. This will all happen on a beautiful autumn day, in the space of about three hours, and there will be no time to do anything about it."

We would have dismissed the person as a crackpot.

The Sept. 11 attacks were so far outside the normal mode for terrorism that no one could have reasonably seen it coming.

Give the terrorists their due: They attacked in a way we never could have expected. The important thing today is not finger-pointing or laying blame. The important thing is that our eyes are now open, and we must never be surprised again.

Ken Blakely

Williamsburg

Update I-64 sign

Every day I travel east on Interstate 64 toward Fort Monroe. I always wonder if the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel is congested because traffic backs up at the last few exits before the tunnel.

Radio traffic-spotters are of no help because invariably they are based in South Hampton Roads and by the time the aircraft makes its way over the Peninsula to check out an accident, the backup has already occurred and you are stuck with no warning.

The electronic traffic warning sign on I-64 East would be useful, if the information displayed were correct. It is rarely correct and most of us ignore it.

For example, on May 16 the sign warned us of a backup, citing a "30-plus minute delay." Usually the sign says a "15- to 30-minute delay," so I feared the worst.

I approached the LaSalle exit. So far, so good. At the Rip Rap Road exit, no backup at all, and traffic was moving along at a normal speed. I figured I would get stuck on the Hampton Creek Bridge but traffic kept moving.

I arrived at the VA hospital exit traveling at a normal speed with absolutely no backup at all! What gives?

Those of us traveling to Fort Monroe and Hampton are forced to backtrack through Hampton neighborhoods to get to our offices when traffic backs up on I-64. When the traffic sign displays erroneous information, this places unnecessary traffic in these neighborhoods and forces delays.

Surely there is a human being who can make sure the electronic sign displays accurate information. Obviously if a condition occurred earlier delaying traffic for "30-plus minutes" the traffic jam didn't just evaporate into the free flowing traffic I saw.